What’s it like to be a Dolphin midweek addition? Let them tell you the challenges
Veteran receiver Trevor Davis got the call from his agent on a recent Tuesday afternoon that the Dolphins had claimed him off waivers from Oakland, rushed to a Bay Area airport, hurried to board a flight, and landed in South Florida as the sun was rising. And — without a single moment of sleep in a bed — immediately was whisked by a Dolphins official to practice, where he met a hundred people, suited up for practice and began frantically studying play calls and schemes and formations on an I-pad.
You think life in the NFL is glamorous?
Certainly not for the players signed midweek during an NFL season, which has been a common practice for the Dolphins in this season of continuous roster churning. Miami has signed 14 players over the past five weeks, and not only did several of them play days after being signed, but one of them (rookie cornerback Nate Brooks) started five days after being signed.
Joining a team midweek involves more than merely uprooting your life. There’s also cramming to learn an intricate playbook - and 63 new teammates (including practice squad members) - and a new set of coaches while trying not to look foolish in practice or during games.
“You’re locked away in your hotel room basically every night and are just trying to learn as many plays as you can,” Davis said. “You’re just sitting on an iPad and looking at the time and setting your alarm clock. That’s really your life for the next couple weeks until you really get everything down and feel comfortable.”
Several Dolphins who got plucked by the Dolphins on a Tuesday or Wednesday — and then had to be ready to suit up Sunday — agree on one thing: “It’s definitely stressful,” said running back Zach Zenner, whose December stay here lasted only a week.
“It’s tough,” said cornerback Ryan Lewis, who signed on a Tuesday in mid-October and started for the Dolphins against Buffalo five days later and is now on injured reserve. “You get a whole bunch of random numbers texting you saying ‘I’m going to come grab you from the airport.’
“They take you in the equipment room because they got to get you ready for practice, then you take your physical, then sign a bunch of papers, then go right into meetings. You are basically trying to play catch-up, learn everything you can. It’s how fast can you learn? The NFL happens fast, but you have to be ready.”
And there’s more: Any new player first meets with coach Brian Flores, his position coach and an official from each department (equipment, video, strength and conditioning, training and security, among others).
The biggest challenge? Learning a playbook and dealing with lack of sleep.
Davis slept only briefly on the plane after being claimed. “Take a little of whatever those little shot energy things are, and you’ll be good,” Davis said.
With the playbook, the Dolphins try to limit what new players need to learn the first week.
“I don’t need to learn the whole playbook; I only need to learn what’s in this for week,” the since-released Zenner said. “The football concepts are very similar across teams but the language is different, so that’s the main issue.”
But Lewis says the volume of information that needs to be absorbed is substantial, especially for defensive backs.
“Every playbook is pretty big,” Lewis said. “[The first 48 hours here], you’re getting a feel for things so you can come in and ask a bunch of coaches questions. Ask the quality control coach, ‘Why is this guy dropping back in this coverage and what’s the check here?’”
The other difficulty: Remembering names.
Linebacker Calvin Munson said that was among the biggest challenges when he joined the team last week. “I’ve met so many people and remembered 10 percent of the names,” he said. “I’m bad with names.”
Receiver Mack Hollins, an early-December addition, said: “Sometimes you’ll put some weird thing in your brain to [trigger recollection] of someone’s name. Fortunately, I took a pre-draft visit with the Patriots, so I remembered coach Flores and [offensive coordinator] Chad O’Shea.”
Hollins said he will sometimes google names to see players’ or coaches’ faces so that he can associate the two.
There were so many new Dolphins players added before the regular-season opener that players said they addressed some teammates during the game by their number because they didn’t know their names.
The Dolphins try to make the process easier for midweek additions by sending transportation to pick them up from the airport, booking a room at a local hotel (and then helping them find a longer term residence), reserving them a car or helping get their vehicle transported here and finding childcare providers and babysitters.
Of the midweek additions, those who made the biggest impact this season were defensive tackle Zach Seiler (was excellent against the Bengals), Taco Charlton (until recently) and offensive tackle Ja’Marcus Webb, along with cornerbacks Lewis (now injured) and Tae Hayes (solid game last Sunday).
Flores’ message to his midweek pickups?
“I talk to them about the culture we’re trying to establish; so let’s be on-time, let’s obviously get into the playbook, get with some of the younger guys and the younger coaching assistants,” Flores said. “Early on, we tell them, ‘Look, it’s going to be a small role and your role will grow. The opportunities you get will be the ones you create for yourself.’ It’s not easy to get those guys ready, but the coaching staff does a good job of getting guys up to speed quickly.”
Fitzpatrick news
▪ Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was named Dolphins MVP, with media and the team deciding that award. Fitzpatrick is expected to start Sunday in New England.
▪ Fitzpatrick, who is due $4 million guaranteed next season and $8 million overall, said he feels great but will talk to his family before deciding whether to play next season. He said Miami’s 2020 QB plans won’t significantly affect his decision.
▪ Cornerback Jomal Wiltz (shoulder) was the only Dolphins who missed practice Thursday. Linebacker Jerome Baker appeared on the injury report for the first time this week with an ankle injury; he was among several players limited in practice.
This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 4:06 PM.
